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Breastfeeding plays an important role in transferring “good” bacteria from the
gut of mothers into babies’ digestive system, scientists have found.

Populations of the bacteria, which include those that aid digestion, were
shown to have been established in the babies after transferring from the
mothers in breast milk. The bacteria help immune system development and
could also prevent intestinal disorders.

The researchers, from the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, Zurich,
looked at the faeces of mothers and babies who had been breastfeeding and
found that the strains of bacteria in them matched. The exact mechanism for
the transfer is